Surgical Genius, Lovely Person - New York, NY

I live in western Canada, but I was planning to...

5 Nov 2012

I live in western Canada, but I was planning to travel to New York in July, so I decided to have a Skype consultation with Dr. Yang to inquire about reducing the "tenting" appearance of sagging skin under my chin. I had been told by a few other surgeons that I would need incisions in front of and behind the ears, in addition to submental liposuction, and possibly a chin implant--but Dr. Yang was much more conservative in his assessment of my needs, refreshingly so! I'm only 37 and was hoping for something subtle that would give me a sharper angle under the chin, but wouldn't make me look like a different person. Dr. Yang was thorough and patient during the Skype consultation, and I felt that I could confidently go ahead and book the procedure for the following month, when I would be in New York. For the procedure, he performed a platysmaplasty and submental liposuction; incisions were restricted to behind the ears (up to but not under the lobe) and a very short incision under the chin. It was all done under local anesthetic in the pristine operating room at his offices in Upper East Side Manhattan. I can honestly say I felt no pain whatsoever during the surgery and practically none afterward. My bruising was minimal, and the initial tightness was more than manageable. I left New York about a week after the surgery with no regrets, excited to see the enhanced definition in my jawline and quite astonished by the precision seams that Dr. Yang had created behind my ears. I had seen so many horror-show post-necklift images of red/swollen cuts zig-zagging all over the place, and I couldn't believe how careful and inconspicuous Dr. Yang's handywork was. I wear my hair up a lot and it was really important to me that the scars be relatively hidden--but, as it turns out, Dr. Yang's seams were essentially invisible after only a week or two. It is now about four months since the surgery, and I am thrilled with the results, totally. My neck looks natural, scar-free, and the tenting is gone; it feels "stable" too, in the sense that I don't expect to have to have much else done for another decade or two.

In short: you can't find a better surgeon anywhere. I had been contemplating a neck lift for several years, and I spent a lot of time researching surgeons; with all the advertising and promotional campaigning out there, it can be difficult to get a real sense of a surgeon's ability, reliability, and overall ethics. I had been lured in by slick websites and media appearances in the past and, a few years ago, had liposuction done by an expensive "celebrity" surgeon in Los Angeles; he didn't do "terrible" job, but it was definitely the conveyor-belt cash-grab treatment, and I came away lumpy and asymmetrical. Looking for a surgeon this time around, I focused more on online commentary, blogs and surgeon responses to questions on this and other websites. I came across Dr. Yang's writing on various kinds of facial and reconstructive procedures, and I was impressed by his sensible, intelligent, and comprehensive remarks.
As I was coming in from out of town, Dr. Yang and his staff made special efforts to accommodate me in terms of preparation, procedure date--and he even made a house-call to my hotel in New York for the post-operative examination.
Dr. Yang is a gifted surgeon, an artist, and a really kind person who obviously wants the best for his patients. He doesn't try to up-sell and genuinely respects the patient's objectives. Throughout my interactions with him, I felt extremely confident, and remember thinking that he was the kind of surgeon you would want working on your child--he's that solid. I will definitely head back to him in the coming years for tweaks here and there, even if it means traveling to New York from western Canada. I've never written a review of this kind before, but I knew that I would for Dr. Yang, because he is that rare professional who is an exceptional, world-class talent, but with a modest and unpretentious personality. I also wanted to save people time and aggravation in their search for a plastic surgeon, as I know from experience how confusing and tedious the search can be. My advice: put Dr. Yang's name at the top of your list!